Disclaimer: I don't own Glee or The Hunger Games.

Note: This is part two of day one. Which tributes fell on this first day of the Games? Read on to find out. Also, a hidden Les Miserábles reference if you can spot it.

Chapter 14

It is quiet.

It is entirely too quiet.

There are sixteen other people running around somewhere…

Boom.

Make that fifteen.

How am I the only one who seems to be hiding out in these trees? Why haven't I seen anyone else around here?

I stand up and sling my backpack up. I decide to wander further into the woods to explore and see if I can find a place to stay for the night (provided I live that long).

The silence is deafening.

I see something out of the corner of my eye and hold my breath; it is just a leaf free-falling to the ground. I exhale and keep walking. I watch where I walk, trying to avoid twigs that could snap beneath my feet and give away where I am. After nearly half an hour of walking, I find a bush. I have seen these before, back in Ten. I know that they are safe to touch and to hide in. It is just large enough for me to crouch behind and remain hidden, so I do.

I do not know how much time has passed before I dare to breathe again.

I have been alert, listening for the boom of the cannon or the footsteps of another person, but aside from one cannon boom, I have heard nothing for a long time.

The sky is growing darker. I dig into my backpack and dole out a part of my rations that will serve as my meal for the day.

It barely fills my stomach, but it is better than nothing.

As I am brushing the crumbs off of my hands, I hear a noise in the distance.

Boom.

Ten. Ten are dead, and the first day is not even over yet. An hour later, I relieve myself, the only time I allow myself to stand and move about. My legs are cramped from crouching for so long, and my back is stiff.

I wonder how I am supposed to sleep like this. Do I sleep with one eye open? Do I sleep for a few minutes and then wake up to check and see if anybody is about? Do I not sleep until the Careers are all dead?

Speaking of death, I hear another blast from the cannon in the distance. Boom. Eleven.

The sky is dark now, and the logo of the Capitol is projected into the sky amid the Anthem. I can see it through the treetops, and I watch the faces of the fallen tributes appear one by one. The boy from Eleven. The girl from Eight. Both tributes from Five. Both tributes from Six. Both tributes from Three. Both tributes from Nine. Finally, Hannah from Seven.

Cameron is still alive.

And for that matter, so are all the Careers…and Lindsay.

Speaking of Lindsay, I can smell smoke not too far from where I am. Curiously, I try to figure out from which direction it is coming from. It is from the east, and I peer from over the top of the bushes. Sure enough, I can see the flames arising from the clearing not too far from here and a figure squatting by the pseudo-campfire.

I smile to myself; Lindsay seems to be doing well off on her own. I settle back in for the night, willing myself to stay awake the night.

I hear a scream.

I know that scream.

I stand up and turn my head towards the sound of it.

And then I run.

I do not run away.

I could.

But I can't.

I run, run until I reach her.

But it is too late.

"Lindsay," I kneel next to her. I can hear laughter, high, soft, melodic laughter, running away, gleeful in her victory. "Lindsay, no…"

Her big blue eyes widen when she sees me. "Damian…you're here…"

"Yes," my face collapses in sudden worry. "I'm here."

She presses a hand to her stomach. When she pulls it away, it is covered in blood. She looks up at me. "I'm sorry."

"What for?" I am confused.

"I didn't make it to the end with you," she says, a tear streaking down her pale face.

"No…Lindsay…I…I can heal you," I dig in my backpack, searching desperately for the healing ointment. "I can help you, please, let me…"

"Don't," she clasps her hand over mine. "I don't want you to. Don't you fret. I don't feel any pain. You're here, and that's all I need to know. You'll keep me safe and close."

"You'll live," I move closer to her. "Lindsay, you will live."

"Just hold me," she groans in pain. "Shelter me and comfort me."

"I won't desert you now," I promise her, cradling her in my arms. Oh, and she is bleeding, bleeding so much, there is blood everywhere and I can't stop it…

"I'm at rest," she reassures me. "A breath away from where you are. I've come home from so far…" She flinches in pain, her breaths coming further apart.

"I'm here," I say needlessly, stroking her hair.

"That's all I need to know," she smiles up at me.

"I will stay with you until you are sleeping," I promise her.

She smiles again. "Thank you, Damian," she whispers, and with her last ounce of strength, she draws herself up and kisses me on the cheek, feather-light. She falls back, and I can see the fight leave her as she breathes her last in my arms.

"Lindsay…Lindsay, no…no…" I tremble as she lays there, unmoving. "Lindsay!"

But it is useless.

She is gone.

Boom.

The sound is definitive and lets me know that this is reality.

To confirm my nightmares, Lindsay's face is projected into the sky, and I can hear a hovercraft rumbling above. Startled, I release her body, and she is carried away, up into the sky, where she can be at peace and sleep forever.

Half of the tributes are dead, and it is only the end of the first day.

I narrow my eyes.

I vow revenge upon Quinn.

I will make her suffer a death a thousand times more painful than what she has done to Lindsay.

I may not have loved her as she loved me, but she was my friend.

And no one, no one, messes with my friends.

To be continued…